From the window to the closet Local design experts do basics, or not-so-basics

by
Dean DeChiaro Reporter staff writerHudson Reporter

Sep 01, 2013 | 3758 views | 0 | 77 | |

ONE ON ONE – Shoppers at Interior Motif usually get the personal treatment from company president and chief designer Stephan Elbaz, who works one on one with many patrons to provide exactly what they want.

Hoboken’s Interior Motif, a custom shades and blinds store on Washington Street, isn’t simply cultured because it carries some of the finest brands in the industry and will cut them to any size you need, but also because a customer can walk in speaking any number of languages and receive services.

“It’s good customer service,” said Stephan Elbaz, the company’s president and chief designer. Elbaz, who hails from Montreal, speaks French and Hebrew in addition to English, and other employees speak Spanish.

Elbaz came to Hoboken 13 years ago, and began Interior Motif out of a warehouse space. It’s now grown to provide window dressings for customers all around the Tri-State area, and from all economic backgrounds. Elbaz has designed dressings for NFL athletes like former New York Giant Jeremy Shockey, but also for newly-arrived families who have bought their first home in Hoboken.

“We’re definitely not a boutique. We really try to avoid that idea,” said Elbaz. “A boutique makes it seems as if you’re too good for some customers, and we will work with everyone.”

_____________ “We’re definitely not a boutique, we really try to avoid that idea.” – Stephan Elbaz____________

Literally, anyone. Interior Motif, located at 629 Washington St., is primarily a business geared toward walk-in customers, such as homeowners and even young renters. Still, the company also works with contractors and interior designers. It carries the four top brands in window dressings, including the Hunter Douglas Gallery, which has endorsed the company.

And despite the upscale name brands, Elbaz said that he prides himself on his competitive pricing.

“As a gallery, I think we’re on par with some of the most expensive places as well as like, Home Depot,” he said. “We pride ourselves on quality and customer service, but on meeting a customer’s price point.”

Closet solutions

Recently Elbaz and his team widened their focus to include closet solutions, or custom-designed methods by which to do the most with the smallest amount of space. For instance, you might have an oddly-shaped closet, or one that’s not quite big enough to be a walk-in but a bit too big to be used regularly.

“What we’re basically going for is offering the customers ways that they can take that minimal amount of space and do the most with it,” said Elbaz. “That means maximizing the potential and also beautifying the space.”

Elbaz said that he could turn a “Hoboken Closet” (which isn’t really a thing, but isn’t hard to imagine) into a more-established “California closet.”

Elbaz is convinced that the closet solutions are going to be a success, he said, noting that the company had started a separate website specifically for closets.

Advances in technology

Some of the features Interior Motif offers, for both its windows and its closets, involve some of the latest technology available in the market. Many of the Hunter Douglas blinds can be run via a motorized mechanism, which isn’t a particularly new thing, but the catch is that this time, it can be controlled via a mobile app.

Additionally, Elbaz said that he’s on the cutting edge of forming new relationships with builders and real estate agents, and working on new residents’ blinds long before they see them.

And despite catering to customers around the Tri-State area (the company has a satellite location at Tsigonia Paint and Hardware in Jersey City), Elbaz said that he’s working hard to establish Interior Motif’s identity as a Hoboken-centric place.

“We’ve done charity stuff with some local organizations, we’ve done the windows for a lot of businesses and restaurants on Washington Street,” he said. “We even did some work in City Hall.”